Quality mental health treatment starts with a thorough assessment. The first session of individual therapy involves a thorough assessment of your concerns and goals. It also gives you the opportunity to determine if your therapist feels like the right fit for you. We then shift our focus to working on your goals. Subsequently, we solidify the progress you make and work towards ensuring long-term change.
Assessment Phase
During the first two to three sessions, we will focus on assessing in detail the reasons and circumstances surrounding your concerns. You may complete some different measures, have us talk to family or a friend if you think it would be helpful, and/or have us connect with previous treatment providers. Our goal is to strike a balance between gathering enough information to be helpful and establishing a therapeutic relationship. We get that it can be a lot of work to start with a new therapist. At times, we will discuss if counseling is right for you or if something else might be more helpful for meeting your goals.
Treatment Phase
Typical treatment length often differs based on an individual's specific goals and needs. Most importantly, we want to be sure your unique needs are cared for; therefore, it is hard to predict exactly how long treatment will be until we unpack all the important factors of what is going on in your life. We will use evidence-based practices, but the most important thing to us is that you feel safe and open to working on what you need to address.
Maintenance Phase
Once you have met your treatment goals, some people find it beneficial to check in with their therapist from time to time. It is important for you and your therapist to come to an agreement on whether it will be most beneficial to reduce the frequency of sessions or wrap up treatment altogether. It is typical for many to return to therapy for check-ins or to address new goals.
